Expanding India’s Maritime Domain Awareness in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

Expanding India’s Maritime Domain Awareness in the Indian Ocean Darshana M. Baruah (bio) The Indian Ocean is an area of primary importance to the Indian Navy and has generally been free of conflict compared with the Pacific. India’s location naturally makes its navy one of the key players in the region and an important security provider for the Indian Ocean community. In recent years, the country has significantly focused on improving its maritime domain awareness (MDA) in response to maritime security threats in coastal waters and much farther afield, and this initiative is now increasingly being driven by China’s presence in the Indian Ocean. India’s image as a regional leader was badly damaged when targets in Mumbai, India’s financial hub, were attacked from the sea on November 26, 2008. The attacks were carried out by nonstate actors originating from Pakistan and involved the perpetrators hijacking an Indian fishing vessel and sailing to Mumbai. These attacks brought to the forefront vulnerabilities in India’s defense strategy and led to a reorientation of its maritime security policies to place much greater emphasis on MDA. India’s recently released maritime security strategy emphasizes MDA as a critical requirement for maritime security and an essential tool to deter adversaries and maintain a strategic advantage.1 It is a broad concept, involving awareness of the positions and intentions of all actors (whether friendly, hostile, or neutral) and in all dimensions (on, over, and under the seas). India’s vision of MDA now extends beyond its coastal waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to cover much of the Indian Ocean. While India largely operates by itself in MDA, it will increasingly need to cooperate with key partners, including the United States. This essay looks at India’s evolving interest in MDA and concludes that the country needs to work more closely with its regional friends and develop a new maritime outlook in the face of a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape in the Indian Ocean region. [End Page 49] The Impact of the Mumbai Attacks on India’s MDA The 2008 Mumbai attacks made clear that India had significant gaps in its coastal surveillance and intelligence capabilities, as well as failures in intelligence sharing with friendly states. The November 26 attacks compelled India’s Ministry of Defence to pay more attention to the country’s maritime needs and gave considerable impetus to the Indian Navy to strengthen its MDA capabilities. The primary goal became covering India’s coastal waters, a major task given that the coastline is approximately 7,500 square kilometers. The first result of the attack was the establishment of the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security, headed by the cabinet secretary, with overall responsibility for the national MDA project. Implementation of the project is led by the Indian Navy with assistance from the coast guard, marine police, and other state and central agencies. The first phase of the project was to provide seamless coverage of India’s coast, including the installation of a chain of 74 automatic identification system receivers along the coast and 46 coastal radars along the mainland and the islands.2 The second result of the attack was that in 2014 the Ministry of Defence launched the Information Management and Analysis Centre and the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence Network.3 This network collates data on all vessels operating near the Indian coast from multiple technical sources, including the automatic identification system and radar chain. These inputs are then fused and analyzed at the national MDA center, which disseminates a common operating picture for coastal security to 51 nodes of the navy and coast guard along the Indian coast. Joint operation centers have also been established at Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, and Port Blair. Expanding the Scope of India’s MDA in the Indian Ocean India has also been giving greater attention to improving its MDA both within its EEZ and in more remote areas of the Indian Ocean. These efforts will likely require coordination and collaboration with friendly states. [End Page 50] India may still be deciding on its role in the larger maritime domain, but its aspirations in the Indian Ocean are...